By CHRIS CHURCHILL Staff writer

Published 1:00 am, Wednesday, July 28, 2010

After a decades-long period in which the size of the average house grew relentlessly, recent census data show that builders are applying the brakes and deciding that less is more.

The trend is tied to a recession that has made larger, more expensive homes difficult to sell. But many builders and real estate agents say other factors are at work, including the aging of the population, environmental concerns, rising energy costs and a desire for simplicity.

"People are finally realizing that bigger is not always better," said Melissa Devine, a Keller Williams Realty broker with Capital Region clients now shying away from larger homes.

The average size of new houses nationally peaked in 2007 at 2,521 square feet. That was more than double the size of most homes in the 1950s and about 46 percent larger than the size of new homes in the late 1970s.

In fact, the size of new homes has grown nearly every year since the census began tracking the data in 1973, bringing terms like "McMansion" and "Hummer houses."

Then the recession hit -- and homes began to contract.

Last year, the average size of a newly constructed home dipped to 2,438 square feet, according to the census bureau. And the average size of homes beginning construction in the first three months of 2010 was even lower, at 2,384 square feet.

To be sure, the decline is relatively modest, and even this year's average size remains greater than just 10 years ago. Still, some builders believe it's the start of a longer-term trend.

"Even people who can afford it want a smaller, well-designed home that uses less energy," said Chris Abele, president of Abele Builders in Halfmoon. "It's the wave of the future."

Abele, like other builders, believes that a larger population of older homeowners is fueling the wave. Those folks, he noted, often don't want the maintenance demands of a larger house.

For that reason, lot sizes also are down in some developments, with houses sitting behind smaller front lawns.

"Part of it is economics," Abele said. "But a big part of it is also freedom. You don't want that monstrosity."

Evidence of the trend toward smaller homes dots the Capital Region. Abele, for example, is building the Sheldon Hills development in Halfmoon, where most residences range from 1,400 to 2,000 square feet.

Lake Ridge, under construction in Latham, is planned by Robert Marini Builders as an 88-home project in which most houses will be smaller than the national average.

Then there is Timber Creek Preserve, a development under way by Heritage Custom Builders of relatively small houses and town homes in Ballston.

Geoff Brooks, owner of the Clifton Park company, said he's been tracking data showing the aging of the population and that homes are decreasing in size. He planned Timber Creek with those factors in mind.

Brooks also said the 2008 economic collapse and bursting of the real estate bubble changed the way buyers view housing, along with what they're willing to pay for it.